research
Helping You Live Better
A Healthy Addition
Studies show about 71 percent of migraine sufferers are dissatisfied with their acute treatment. According to the NHF, there are about 30 million Americans with migraine. That’ s a lot of unsatisfied people who are looking for a new alternative.
Many books and studies have touted the effectiveness of magnesium supplementation for migraine. Although magnesium treatment only works for people who are magnesium deficient, about 50 percent of migraineurs have this problem, says Alexander Mauskop, MD, director and founder of the New York Headache Center.
For migraine patients, magnesium performs many different functions in the brain, including regulating serotonin receptors where migraine drugs work.
“ This is no secret,” Dr. Mauskop says.“ The American Academy of Neurology guidelines for the treatment of migraines recommend magnesium supplementation.”
Dr. Mauskop has spent the last several years developing a new over-the-counter product, called Migralex, which combines two staples of migraine treatment, aspirin and magnesium. Dr. Mauskop says aspirin is still the best, and most studied, analgesic, but it can cause stomach issues. Because magnesium is very alkaline, it neutralizes the stomach side effects of aspirin.
“ Magnesium has other benefits, as well— not just the headache effects,” Dr. Mauskop says.“ It makes people feel relaxed, their vision improves, their head feels clearer. They just feel better in general.”
By the Numbers
The National Institutes of Health( NIH) is the major source of governmental research funding in the United States. In 2007, the NIH granted:
$ 13 MILLION for migraine research
$ 294 MILLION for asthma research
$ 1.037 BILLION for diabetes research
Source: americanmigrainefoundation. org
A Cheaper
Alternative
Although prescription medication is an essential part of most migraine treatment plans, there might be a more cost-effective option. According to a new study published in the June issue of the journal Headache, behavioral therapies, such as relaxation training, hypnosis and biofeedback, can be a cheaper, and longlasting, alternative to medication.
Researchers compared the costs of several types of minimalcontact behavioral treatment with preventive prescription drugs. With minimal-contact treatment, a patient sees a therapist only a few times a year and uses instructional literature or relaxation CDs to practice behavioral techniques at home.
After six months, minimal-contact behavioral treatment was comparable to drug treatment using medicines that cost 50 cents or less per day. But after one year, minimal-contact therapy was nearly $ 500 cheaper.
The cost of prescription migraine medications might not seem like much at first, but it keeps adding up over time, says study coauthor Donald Penzien, PhD, director of the Head Pain Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
“ The cost of behavioral treatment is front-loaded,” he says.“ You go to a number of treatment sessions, but then that’ s it. And the benefits last for years.”
16 HEAD WISE | Volume 1, Issue 2 • 2011